MOSCOW(Reuters)-A Russian court on Monday convicted a leading opposition figure of treason for publicly denouncing Moscow’s war in Ukraine and sentenced him to 25 years in prison as part of the Kremlin’s crackdown on critics of the aggression.
Political activist and journalist Vladimir Karamurza Jr., who survived two poisonings in which he blamed Russian authorities, denied the charges levied against him as punishment for defiance of President Vladimir Putin, and said he was a veteran of the Soviet Union.
Human rights groups and Western governments condemned the verdict and called for his release. Amnesty International has declared the 41-year-old man a prisoner of conscience.
The charges against Karamurza, a dual Russian-British citizen who has been in prison since his arrest a year ago, stemmed from a March 2022 speech to the Arizona House of Representatives that In it, among other speeches, he denounced Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
The British, American, German and other Western governments strongly condemned the conviction. “Vladimir Kara-Murza has courageously condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a flagrant violation of international law and the United Nations Charter,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley said in a statement.
The Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Russian Ambassador Andrei Kerin for the verdict. The British government has previously sanctioned the presiding judge for human rights abuses in another case, and said it would take further steps to hold individuals accountable in the Kara-Murza case.
The U.S. State Department has issued a statement to Karamurza, imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Yassin, and “to their country and their fellow citizens at great personal cost by boldly standing up for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” welcomed the many others who are serving. She has renewed her voice for the release of Karamurza and more than 400 of his other political prisoners in Russia.
